Programming Concepts Intermediate

What is Functional Programming?

A programming paradigm that treats computation as the evaluation of mathematical functions, avoiding state changes and mutable data.

Functional programming emphasizes pure functions (same input always produces same output, no side effects), immutable data, and function composition. Key concepts include map, filter, reduce, recursion, and higher-order functions.

Benefits include easier testing (pure functions), parallelism (no shared state), and predictable behavior. Languages include Haskell, Erlang, Clojure, and Scala. Most modern languages (Python, JavaScript, Java) support functional features.

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Observer Pattern

A design pattern where an object (subject) maintains a list of dependents (observers) that are notified automatically of state changes.

Testing individual components or functions of a program in isolation to verify they work correctly.

The implied cost of additional rework caused by choosing a quick solution now instead of a better approach that would take longer.

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A software design pattern where components communicate by producing and consuming events rather than direct method calls.

The ability of a program to manage multiple tasks that can make progress during overlapping time periods.

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